Jakarta Globe, Report | October 10, 2010
Imagine this: A crowd of more than 50,000 young people gathered at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta to celebrate peace. Most of the attendees would have been involved in projects that seek to help alleviate poverty and would be enjoying themselves by this time, jamming to performances by the Thousand Youth and Women Choir, as well as Indonesian, Malaysian, Philippine and Korean pop artists.
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| The Global Peace Festival 2010 hopes to attract 50,000 people. (Photo courtesy of Gpf-asiapacific.org) |
The Global Peace Festival, set to take place in the capital between Oct. 15-18, is held in different cities worldwide each year and is expected by organizers to attract 50,000 people.
The festival is organized with the help of the Nahdlatul Ulama, the country’s largest Muslim organization, as well as many other local partners.
Its mission is to foster a culture of service, strengthen families and marriages and engage interfaith partnerships in nations that host the event.
According to its Web site, www.globalpeacefestival.org, the GPF “promotes and celebrates persons and programs that contribute to reconciliation, mutual respect, harmony and cooperation, and sees all people as One Family Under God.”
With the support of their schools, students from across Jakarta are set to hit the streets this week to collect money for a new initiative — The Power of Rupiah project — launched to coincide with the GPF.
The Power of Rupiah aims to collect loose change and seeks to emphasize that any act of giving, no matter how small, has the potential to make a difference in the lives of Jakarta’s poor.
Schools and universities will be using the money raised to implement community programs.
“We want to encourage young people in terms of not just focusing on personal achievements, but encourage them to contribute to a social cause,” said Malaysian Teh Su Thye, vice executive director of the Global Peace Festival Asia Pacific 2010.
“We’re getting young people to learn how to give. Giving is important.
“The Global Peace Festival promotes leaders who exemplify the culture of service,” Teh said. “We want to encourage and recognize young people.”
The Youth Leadership Award, aimed at recognizing the many achievements of Jakarta’s youth, is included in the festival’s program.
The award will be presented to the winning student on Oct. 17 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
This is especially significant since the day is also earmarked as the United Nations-sponsored International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
To win the award, the student must be nominated by their school, university or a friend and submit a list of their achievements and community involvement.
Nominees then have to write an essay on why peace is important to them and outline a social issue faced by Indonesians and suggest how this could be solved using the money raised through the Power of Rupiah campaign.
Teh said he has already received 130 entries, and more are still coming in.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is a patron of the festival and may attend the event. Teh said the president’s support is an indication of the importance and longevity of their program.
“I think the support from the president is crucial. I don’t want to touch on politics, but we want an endorsement from the president because this is a big project,” he said.
“We want the president to be involved in this program and we want the general public to see that.”
Nahdlatul Ulama’s Slamet Effendy Yusuf, executive chairman for the GPF celebration in Indonesia, said the event aims to have a positive impact on the most marginalized members of Jakarta’s society: the children and the poor.
Slamet emphasized that poverty is a social issue separate from recent religious conflicts in Indonesia.
“I think poverty and stupidity can cause social gaps and can trigger misunderstanding. In my opinion, poverty isn’t about faiths, but this is a social issue,” he said.
He added that the festival is working toward fulfilling Indonesia’s national motto, which is “Unity in Diversity.”
The festival comes at a time when increased incidents of intolerance and its attendant violence have been reported across Indonesia, and organizers say the festival is an event they hope gives young people something positive to focus on in their communities.
For more info, log on to www.gpf-asiapacific.org.
Oct. 16: Global Peace Service initiatives throughout Jakarta.
Oct. 17: Global Peace Festival Asia Pacific 2010, from 5 p.m. at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium
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